Personal imports: Facts about bushmeat
Bushmeat is the meat of any wild animal hunted for food. It is not necessarily from endangered species. Bushmeat forms a small proportion of illegal imports seized. There are rules on trade in endangered species and products derived from them. To find out more, please visit the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species UK website.
Q1. Does all bushmeat come from endangered species?
A. By no means. The term “bushmeat” refers to a wide range of animals. It means “the meat of any wild animal hunted for food”. Bushmeat might therefore derive from critically endangered species listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but could equally come from relatively common species such as various kinds of deer or rodents.
Q2. So what endangered species are affected by the bushmeat trade?
A. Gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) are particularly at risk from the bushmeat trade. The Diana guenon (a type of monkey), Jentink’s duiker (a small forest antelope), forest elephants, leopards, drills and mandrills are also at risk. All these animals are listed in Appendix I of CITES, so are banned completely from international trade.
Other animals such as those listed on CITES Appendix II and III (including various other antelope and monkey species, pangolins, the African civet cat, sitatunga (a forest hog), and various snakes) are allowed to be traded subject to a permitting system.
Q3. What is being done to stop bushmeat from endangered species coming into the UK?
A. The Government has provided some £80k in support of the Bushmeat Working Group (BWG), which was set up to examine issues raised by the trade in bushmeat within the Central African sub region and report back to the 13th CITES Conference of Parties in October this year.
Under the provisions of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 (COTES) it is illegal to sell meat of species listed on Appendix II which has not been legally acquired or imported. The penalties for such offences are:
- on summary conviction, a fine of up to £5000, a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months, or both; or
- on conviction on indictment, up to 2 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
Related information
- Defra Wildlife and Countryside Research Programme - Assessment of the solution-orientated research needed to promote a more sustainable bushmeat trade in Central and West Africa
- CITES Bushmeat Working Group information
Page last
modified:
September 3, 2008
Page published: 5 February 2003